Esdeath the Hero!
by KV1789
Summary: After a battle with Night Raid, Esdeath awakens to find her powers gone and everything she knew reversed. With Najenda as the power-hungry Empress, Akame as a battle-loving psycho general and a macho Honest leading the "Path of Freedom" rebellion, can our favorite blue-haired sadist become the hero the people need?
1. What Happened?

Going to sleep feels good.

Waking up, however, sometimes doesn't.

Especially if you wake up in the middle of some dirt road, under the afternoon sun, in nothing but a dress shirt and panties.

This was Esdeath's predicament right now.

Kneeling up from her face-down position on the ground, blue-haired sadist rubbed off the dirt on her face before looking at her surroundings. She was in a clearing on a path in a forest, far, far away from civilization it seemed.

 _"How...did I get here?"_ she thought as she scratched her head.

If she remembered the events that occurred previously correctly, she was in a heated battle against Night Raid. Specifically squaring off against her beloved Tatsumi while Budo took on the rest of the Night Raid attack force. However, after freezing time with Mahapadama to try and execute the pink-haired bitch who her dear, sweet Tatsumi wrongly referred to as a girlfriend, she was suddenly and violently sucker punched straight in the gut and face almost simultaneously, knocking her out cold with the sheer force.

That would explain the splitting headache she was feeling at the moment, but how did she end up so far away from the capital? More or less, she needed to get back in any way possible.

Trying to stand up, she fell down to a knee. Why did her legs feel like jelly? Unacceptable! She would be standing up at the very moment. There was no time to be weak!

 _"DAMMIT! I WILL NOT REMAIN LIKE THIS!"_ she mentally screamed as she finally stood up, but was about to fall on her face until she quickly took ahold of a nearby tree to hold herself up.

The wind blew through the area. Its coldness was a relief to the blistering heat as it blew on her bare legs as she tried to get a sense of direction. The fact that the sun was just right above her meant that she could not use it to tell where was East or West. The road itself had no signs anywhere, so she decided that once she got the feeling back in her legs again, she would at least walk in one direction to get anywhere so she could reach a place to get to the capital.

The big battle between the Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Army was nearing! She absolutely must not miss this spectacle!

As the numbness was going away, the sound of hooves trotting and the clacking of a wooden cart could be heard distantly. Looking at the source of the noise, Esdeath saw an approaching horse-drawn wagon. The wagon itself was medium-sized, but it looked big as a large amount of brooms, conical hats, packages and boxes were tied to the sides and roof respectively. The driver was an old-looking man with a Fu Manchu-style mustache in a brown coat and a cowboy hat.

"You! HALT!" she ordered in her most commanding tone as the wagon drew closer. The old man quickly looked in her direction before stopping the horse.

"Woah, boy!" he said as the horse neighed in response before stopping as he pulled back the reins. He immediately got down from the driver's seat and walked towards Esdeath. He was briefly taken aback upon seeing her state and state of dress, but shook his head and reminded himself to be a proper gentleman by only focusing on anywhere but her body.

"Oh my gosh, lady, are you okay? Did some bandits rob you or something?" he asked. Esdeath was surprised that the man did not recognize her as a general of the Imperial Army, but as he looked to be some country bumpkin who probably had no idea about the current war against the Revolutionary Army and that she could use a ride out of the place at the moment, she decided to play the role of a victim. Sure it would make her look weak, but at this point she didn't have much of a choice.

"Well...yes, mister...they...they took everything..." she said, trying to sound convincing enough. _"Wow. It feels really weird saying that, but as long as I can leave this godforsaken place..."_

"Oh, you poor girl... No one deserves to be treated like that," the old man said as he took off his hat and put it on her head before taking off his coat and putting it on her. He was now wearing a brown chino shirt and denim pants with some old boots.

Esdeath put a hand on his shoulder as he carefully led her to the back of the wagon, which had a door with a wooden step below it.

"Let's get you out of here before any more of those fools come back," he said as he opened it and helped her in. Esdeath found the interior to be a small living space right behind the driver's seat. There was a futon big enough for one person, together with a pillow. An unlit oil lamp was hung from a hook on the left. On the right was a small drawer that presumably contained his belongings.

The old man got back on the driver's seat. "A'ight, Artie. Giddy up!" he commanded as the brown stallion neighed and started trotting. Esdeath took a deep breath before sitting up and leaning against the left wall of the wagon interior.

She was..."safe" at the moment. Knowing how much criminal scum would normally prowl the lawless outskirts of the Empire's territory, the man she was riding with could possibly be one of them himself, pretending to be a nice person until he could strike at the right time. As such, she decided to keep on guard. If he did try to rape her, she could easily overpower him. She didn't need to use Demon's Extract, but it would be amusing to torture him with it.

"So lady...ummmm...is there any place you're planning to go to? I'd be happy to take you there," he asked. Clearly he was attempting small talk to break the silence.

"You...don't happening to be heading to the capital, do you?"

"What a coincidence! I was heading there meself! Gotta sell for a living you know."

Yes! She couldn't believe how lucky she was! But she still had to stay on guard: he might have been lying.

Looking around some more, she noticed a picture frame clamped to the wall. A young man and woman and presumably their daughter were smiling. The black and white photo looked quite old. Maybe they were his family when he was younger.

Below the picture, laying next to the drawer was what looked to be an axe wrapped in a cloth. To protect himself? To chop wood? To kill some unsuspecting victims? She didn't know, but all the more reason to be on alert.

There was nothing else besides the aforementioned things in the wooden cart. The silence prevailed again, with only the sounds of the horse's hooves trotting and of the forest permeating the air. He already tried to break the silence, so maybe it was her turn now.

"Where's your family, mister?" she quietly asked, trying to sound as meek as possible.

The old man sighed softly before replying.

"Well...they're...uhhhh...they're...they're in a better place now... Bandits...they...th-they...you know."

"Oh...errrr, I'm sorry to hear that."

The old man scratched his head.

"At least the bastards got what they deserved. All thanks to mah trusty axe over there."

Esdeath raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"You don't mean you-"

"Yeah. I...went out and killed them after I saw what they did...to my daughter...depraved assholes...but mah wife...ah, I remember her last words to me...'Live, honey. Please. Live for us.'"

Esdeath looked down at the wooden floor. She remembered what happened to her tribe back then.

"Anyways, enough 'bout me. How 'bout you? Where're ya from?" he asked.

Esdeath decided to withhold her status as a military official to play it safe.

"I...I was once a member of a tribe..."

"Oh! You were?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Weeeelll, ya looked like city folk to me. Pardon this old fella. I didn't know you were a tribal type."

"I get that a lot."

"What do ya mean by 'once' though?"

"Enemy tribe went over while I was away. You can figure out the rest."

"Oh...oh man, I'm so sorry about that."

"That was way back when I was a kid. I've gotten used to it now."

"Wow. I'm just...amazed at how you can talk so casually about that."

"My father used to tell me that 'the strong live, and the weak die'. That's what kept me going all the way."

"Sooo...I guess I can consider myself strong for surviving those bandits an' all now, huh?"

Esdeath grinned.

"And I thought you were surprised about how I can talk so casually about death."

The old man laughed in response.

"Just tryin' to make a joke and all to lighten the mood."

"To answer your question...yeah. I think you can."

"Don't look the part though. Hahaha!"

They fell silent again for a while before the old man spoke again.

"The name's Merl, by the way. Yours is?"

Esdeath hesitated for a moment.

"It's...Esdeath."

"Es...deze?"

"Es. Death."

"Es...death? That's a pretty...unusual name for a woman like you."

"I think it suits me fine."

"Whatever ya say, Esdeath..." he trailed off as he glanced at the sky. The sun was starting to set as they exited the forest.

"Looks we're outta the woods now, but it's still a long way to the Capital," Merl said as he focused back on the road.

"Why don't cha get some rest? Yer probably gonna need it when we reach the place."

As much she didn't want to fall asleep, Esdeath could feel that she was incredibly exhausted.

 _"I suppose a quick nap wouldn't hurt...but just try and touch me, Merl. "_ she thought as she moved to the futon. She might have "befriended" this old man, but she still couldn't trust him.

* * *

 **A couple hours later...  
**

"Halt! State your name and business here in the Capital..." a muffled, unfamiliar voice said as the wagon abruptly stopped, following the neigh of the horse. Esdeath was awoken by it as she got up and rubbed her eyes. Her sleep wasn't very comfortable due to the bumpiness of the road, but at least she wasn't sleeping face down on the ground.

Merl and some unknown voices-probably border guards-were talking to each other. Just as she pressed her ear to the wall, the door of the wagon swung open as a Military Police soldier peered in, catching Esdeath off-guard. The soldier was wearing a light brown trenchcoat with a polo and tie underneath, a red armband and a black steel pot helmet with a white stripe around it. He was holding what looked to be a gun-spear.

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here!" he said as he grinned before grabbing Esdeath by the arm and dragging her out the wagon, abruptly dropping her on the cement road.

What the hell? How could they not recognize her? Perhaps it was because of her appearance, but that was impossible! She was in the Capital! Surely everyone would know her!

Meanwhile, Merl was shoved by some soldiers to the back of the wagon while one of them questioned him.

"Is she part of your merchandise too?" he scathingly demanded.

"No! She's...my daughter."

"Yeah, right," the soldier who dragged Esdeath out said as he walked over to him.

"First you say you don't know anything about our policy regarding entry papers, and now you claim that this half-naked broad is your daughter?!" he said as he looked at Merl in the eyes.

"Just admit it, buddy...you're a goddamn human trafficker!" the soldier loudly said as he threw a punch at Merl's gut, forcing the old man to collapse to his knees in pain.

Esdeath looked on in disgust as the soldier glanced at her. There were three soldiers present. Two standing behind Merl, and the aforementioned soldier, who was in front. She needed to make a move. and fast.

"Hm hmmm...your boss must've hit the jackpot! This one's got a nice bod..." he said as he lecherously sneered at her before crouching next to Merl and turning his head to him.

"Listen up here, bud. We'll be willing to let you and her go...but only if you pay us a little something."

"H-How...m-much?" Merl asked as he winced in pain.

"6,000 Imperial marks. Does that sound good to y'all?" the soldier said to the other two while mocking Merl's accent.

"Yeahaha, sir."

"Sounds like a fair trade!"

"6,000 each, buddy. Take it or leave it."

Merl was visibly shocked upon hearing it.

"I-I only have a couple thousand!"

The soldier shook his head in disappointment.

"Tsk, tsk. Well...that won't do. Looks like we're going to have to 'confiscate' your 'merchandise' and send you to jail, old man," he said as he pushed Merl to his side.

"Don't worry about her though..." the soldier said as he looked back at Esdeath. "She'll be a very important asset to our... _'investigation'_..."

The soldier reached out to grab her wrist, but Esdeath pulled her arm away as she stood up.

This was enough.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!"

The soldier and Merl looked at her, stunned.

"What."

"DO ANY OF YOU EVEN RECOGNIZE ME?! I AM GENERAL ESDEATH OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY! LEADER OF THE JAEGERS!" she shouted in her most commanding tone before pointing a finger at them.

"AND I ORDER YOU TO CEASE THIS BULLSHIT!"

The soldiers looked at each other and laughed while Merl looked on in confusion.

"What are you doing?" he mouthed to her.

"STOP LAUGHING THIS INSTANT!"

 _"What the fuck?! What is going on here?! Why are these bastards laughing?!"_ she thought as she looked on, confused and irritated. How dare these soldiers not acknowledge her authority! It was the when it came to her when she saw the red armbands again.

They had the Revolutionary Army's logo on it.

Her eyes widened in shock.

 _Had the battle already happened? Did she miss out on the spectacular battle she would've had in ages while she was out cold?_

 _THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE!_

"What the hell did you do to her, old man? That must've been some kinky torture!"

Esdeath got into a combat stance as she prepared to use her Teigu on the soldiers. Once she was finished with them, the rest of the Revolutionary Army was next.

At least she could enjoy the carnage all by herself.

She thrust her left hand forward and mentally ordered _"Freeze."_

Nothing happened as the soldiers started to stop laughing.

 _"Huh?! Why...why isn't Demon's Extract working?!"_ she thought as the soldier in front of her looked at her strangely after regaining his composure.

"What are the fuck you doing now?" he asked.

Esdeath frowned harder as she tried to make her Teigu work.

"WEISSSCHNABEL!" she shouted. No icicles materialized to impale the three.

"Is this some kind cuss word I haven't heard off?" one of the soldiers asked.

 _"Why isn't it working?!"_ Esdeath demanded mentally as she looked at her hand. As she brought it closer to her, she noticed something.

The tattoo on her chest was gone.

 _"Nonononono...this isn't possible!"_

For once, Esdeath briefly felt how it was to panic. Demon's Extract was gone.

"Okay, bitch. Enough bullshit. You're coming with us!" the soldier in front of her attempted to grab her arm again, only for her to grab his and judo throw him to the ground and break his arm by stomping hard on his elbow.

 ***CRACK***

"AUUUGGGHHHHHHH!"

The two other soldiers and Merl looked on, stunned yet again as Esdeath picked up the fallen gun-spear and charged the two.

She drove the spear blade deep into one of their necks, pushing him down to the floor and jamming the blade into the ground, with Esdeath tripping over his body. The other soldier gritted his teeth as he attempted to stab her with his only for an axe to split his head and neck in two.

The still blood-spurting body of the man fell to her side as she saw Merl holding his bloody axe.

"Thanks? But I think I had that covered," she said to the old man, who tossed his axe back into the wagon.

"Sure you did. Need a hand up?" he asked he offered her his hand. Esdeath obliged.

"Been a while since I used that ol' thing on a man. Now let's go hide these bodies."

"Go figure."

It was only then when Esdeath looked around to see the Capital. It didn't look any different than it did before. The Imperial Palace still dominated the skyline, although buildings just as tall or more were now being built.

She and Merl dragged the bodies into a grimy alley and covered them with a nearby dirty canvas. Afterwards, they regrouped back at the wagon.

"Err...welcome to the Capital, Esdeath. I honestly wasn't expecting my welcome to be like this," Merl said as he put a hand on his still-aching abdomen.

"Me neither."

"What was all that about bein' a general, anyway?"

 _Oops!_

"I...uh...well...I uhhh...I was trying to distract...them?"

"Ahhhh. Well it certainly worked! Where did you learn to fight like that too?"

Esdeath looked aside.

"My father taught me a few things..."

"Bless his soul then! I'd say he's raised a fine young lady who can defend herself!"

"You are aware that we just killed three men, right?" Esdeath jokingly replied.

"Well, anyway. Are you gonna go by yourself now or do ya still want a ride around here?" Merl asked.

"I think it'd be best if we part. We shouldn't stick around here after all this."

"Oh, right. Good thinkin'. Them coppers gonna be here any moment."

Merl inspected his wagon before looking back at Esdeath.

"Are you suuure ya wanna go around like that? I don't think I have any clothes that can fit ya in here..."

"It's fine, it's fine. You should get going already, Merl. Thanks for the ride."

"Aww shucks, don't mention it. Take care of yerself. If ya need anythin' I'll be peddlin' 'round here and the market."

"I'll...drop by when I have time," Esdeath said as she looked at the Imperial Palace.

"'Till our paths cross again, 'General'! Hahahaha!" Merl said as he rode off.

Esdeath cracked her neck and stared down the Palace.

 _"Time to find out what the hell is going on here."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm not sure if anyone has made this kind of story yet, but either way, here it is! A story with Esdeath becoming the "hero" of the people! Please read & review!


	2. Going Commando

After Merl left for the market, Esdeath walked into the alley, passing the covered corpses of the Revolutionary Army's Military Police as she turned right and walked towards the Imperial Palace. She buttoned up the coat he gave her, which at least covered her exposed lower body as she made an effort not to step on all the garbage and mucky puddles.

Ewww! This was the first time in ages that she was walking barefoot, being used to her stiletto-heeled boots, and she had to endure walking through all that? But of course, she needed to make the sacrifice as not to be seen by any soldiers or police.

After all, she was still strong, her lack of powers be damned.

She darted across a road into the next alley after waiting for a carriage to pass by. As it appeared to be early in the morning, there fortunately wasn't a lot of people present. If someone saw her, they would probably think that she was just a long-haired woman in a coat.

Unless they saw her feet.

 _"I need to get some fucking shoes..."_ she thought as she frowned in frustration.

It dawned onto her that she was pretty much streaking like some disgusting exhibitionist. _Ugh! Why?!_ This would be a devastating embarrassment if any of the Jaegers or her army found out! She couldn't help but imagine all of them laughing at her.

Regardless, she needed to get to the Palace. She would find out who was in charge to verify if the Revolutionary Army's leadership was there and what happened to the rest of the Empire's forces. Her army must still be out there, still fighting, down to the last man. As she always instructed. The Jaegers as well. They might have lost a few of their own recently, but Night Raid had too, and she was very confident that they could hold their own or even wipe out who remained of Night Raid without her. If she could, maybe she could lend them a hand in retaking the Capital by slaughtering the enemy leadership.

Especially Najenda.

She remembered her defection and the battle they had where she sliced her arm off in the most messiest, pain-inducing way as her own version of a farewell gift to a turncoat. She was weak now, but she attempted to regain herself by replacing her arm with an automail one.

How pathetic. At least she had all her limbs! Ha! Esdeath betted that she didn't even fight her own battles anymore!

She maliciously grinned as she thought of all the things she could to her adversary, but her thoughts were interrupted by a weak cry of, "Change...sp-p-p-pare...change...p-please..."

She looked down typo her left to see a weak-looking man in rags. He was almost as thin as a stick, and was curled up to his knees while shivering as his right palm was laid on the floor, open.

Beggars. Pffft. These people were those who supposedly didn't make it in life because of so many countless reasons, but that was their fault, she reasoned to herself. They clearly didn't work hard enough or were lazy that they decided that feeding off the leftover scraps of the successful would be more easier.

Look at where they are now.

She snubbed the man as she continued walking. Looking at people like that disgusted and irritated her. All they had to do was work for what they wanted and make sacrifices to achieve it. They had to have the toughness and guts to do what they wanted to achieve what they wanted. She was living proof of this!

After more walking, the ice general found herself near the main gate of the Palace. The watchtowers were bristling with snipers and the gate itself was barricaded with sandbags and barbed wire as gun-spear-armed soldiers lounged around or patrolled.

 _"Hmmm. Upgraded to gunpowder now, you rebels? That still won't stop me,"_ she thought.

In the usage of gunpowder was still in the experimental stages. Most of her soldiers specialized in close combat warfare, but being the brilliant general she was, the advances of warfare couldn't be passed over. She kept a few regiments armed with the then in-development gun lances in case the CQC troops were horribly outmatched.

Practicality helped her survive after all, so of course it should be applied to her army to increase their odds of success and survival!

Following the length of the wall as she tried to look for a way in. There were other smaller gates, but they were fortified as well. No one was getting in or out it seemed.

Climbing the wall would be possible. There were some cinderblock parts she could use as handholds. Esdeath had some experience climbing, thanks to the hunting trips her father used to take her on, but the top of the walls were tipped with some dangerously sharp metal spikes.

She followed the wall some more as she spotted a large tree that had a thick branch jutting out over the wall. Some of the watchtowers nearby didn't have anyone manning them at the moment and one of the buildings nearby was tall enough to reach the branch.

The conclusion was clear: She had to scale the building.

Esdeath sighed as she examined the building. Mountain climbing was not so difficult, but applying that to a building?

 _"First time for everything, I guess,"_ she thought as she cracked her knuckles.

Esdeath undid her coat and tied it around her waist to give her legs space to move and rolled up the sleeves of her dress shirt. Her underwear was exposed again, but at this point she didn't care. All that mattered was getting in.

She climbed up the side of the building, using the windows and pipes as handholds and steps. Some people down below noticed her, but most went about on their duties, not wanting to get the attention of this crazy streaker.

She managed to reach the tiled roof, making sure not to slip as she pulled herself up.

The view was...passable to say the least. City still looked the same to her as she stood in a similar style to the Captain Morgan pose, with her long blue hair fluttering in the wind.

The branch was right in front of her, but she had to make a jump to get on. Esdeath briefly paced a few steps back before making a running jump onto the branch. Her feet landed on it but her momentum pushed her forward. She grunted as she grabbed two other branches to keep her from falling forward.

 _"Haah...that was...fun. But no time for that now. Time to get down."_

Now the General had to climb down the tree, an easy task. Tree climbing was one of the things she did as a child to pass the time or to get fruits. Jumping from tree to tree? Not really, but it was kind of thrilling.

She quickly jumped down, rolling to offset the impact. Now she was in the Imperial Gardens.

Lush green, trimmed grass surrounded the area. Well-kept exotic plants, tall trees, fluffy bushes and beautiful flowers were spread through the place in a beautiful arrangement. There was a small creek that flowed towards a grate to a bigger one which led to the Imperial Canal, and a path of tiles that led to two big, double doors which were left wide open together with some smaller doors.

Esdeath took a moment to kneel close to the creek and examined the water. It was crystal clean, so she cupped some water in her hands and took a sip. Afterwards, she wiped her face with her wet hands, as it was feeling so dry.

 _"Good to see that the Revolutionary Army still maintains this place, at least,"_ she thought as she made her way to the doors.

Peering inside and peeking to the left and right, there were no guards as of yet, so she decided to silently make her way to her room in the palace.

Passing through a hallway and making sure her steps were as light as possible, she reached an intersection where a guard was standing with his back to her. Seeing as he wasn't moving anytime soon, she decided to kill him.

She slowly crept up behind him and quickly snapped his neck before he could react. She dragged his body into an unoccupied room and tossed his body into a vacant chest, but not before hiding his gun-spear and taking his knife. The gun-spear was too big to carry around in her current situation.

Going down another hallway again, Esdeath could hear some voices heading in her direction. Seeing a door left ajar, she rushed in and closed it.

She turned around, only to find herself looking at a guy in a suit seated in a chair behind a desk. He had the same red armband on and appeared to be working on some paperwork.

"What are you doing in-mmph!?" he was interrupted by Esdeath as she leapt over the desk and straddled him in his seat, putting the knife at his throat and her hand on his mouth.

"Shut. Up." she whispered menacingly. The man nodded in fear.

The voices were getting closer to the door, getting audible as they neared.

"...anyway. I think Mr. Klist should be in there. I'll wait for ya."

"Thank you so much for helping me, sir. You know how he is with these documents, and with how big this place is I was afraid I'd get lost and lose my job!"

"Anytime."

They stopped in front of the door. Esdeath looked back at it nervously.

This was going to be bad. And awkward.

One of the men knocked and spoke, "Mr. Klist! Here are the documents you requested!"

Esdeath looked Klist square in the eye.

"Tell him to _leave_. _NOW_."

Klist obliged by nodding his head. Esdeath moved her hand slightly to let him speak.

"I'm...I'm busy right now! Can you come back later?"

Esdeath waited for the man outside to comply, but instead...

"Oh, okay. I'll just leave the documents..." the man said as he opened the door and peeked in.

"...on...this...table..."

The other suited man apparently walked in on his boss having sex with some gorgeous woman.

"Hey. What's...wrong..."

The armed guard and the other man's jaws figuratively dropped.

Well. This was embarrassing.

Esdeath quickly assessed her situation to take advantage of it regardless. Her back was toward them, and they didn't seem to notice that she was holding a knife to Klist's throat. She quickly hid the knife under his chin as she put her right hand on the back of his head, pushing his head slightly towards her.

Esdeath turned her head towards them and made the most ahegao-y expression she could think of.

"Haaaah...haaaah...do you two mind~? I was...s-so close~."

 _"What am I doing?!"_

If everyone else found out about this...no...if _TATSUMI_ ever found out about this, she would literally kill herself.

The guard and the suited man's eyes widened together with Klist. The suited man left an envelope on a small table next to the door and quickly closed it and they dashed away.

Esdeath sighed with relief.

 _"I am NEVER doing that again,"_ she thought as she buried the knife into Klist's throat. She got off quickly as she made an effort not stain her dirty, white shirt as she wiped the blood on the knife on the dead man's suit jacket. Esdeath went to the door and picked up the envelope and ripped off the top to see its contents.

"Public Announcement...blah blah blah...war against the Republic of Westria has begun...blah blah blah...citizens are required to give full support to the effort through contributions and enlistment, signed...Empress Najenda?!"

Esdeath dropped the paper and looked through the rest. They were all signed by "Empress Najenda".

"Well then, Najenda. It seems like you weren't any different..." Esdeath said quietly to herself as she smirked. The revolution was just another excuse for someone to take power. Someone like Najenda.

Esdeath let the paper float down as she left the room and locked the door. She made her way to her old room.

Avoiding a few guards (And occasionally killing a few who were in her way) she reached her old room...which was just an empty bedroom. She assumed that they looted it, but it appeared that the room was always empty based on its look.

 _"What the fuck?! I don't understand! This has to have been my room!"_ she thought, frustrated.

She then remembered the Teigu Armory. At least she wouldn't leave empty-handed.

She made her way again to the other side of the Palace, overhearing some conversation between guards and the people employed there.

"It's only been two years and now we're waging war on another country? What is the Empress doing?"

"Don't question her out loud! The Intelligence Division has ears in the walls!"

 _"So the Empire was defeated two years ago? That's strange..."_ Esdeath thought as she passed by two guards chatting on a balcony. She eventually reached the grand hall which led to the throne room, which she crossed by passing through the second floor walkway. Three guards were talking to each other downstairs.

"Is the Path of Freedom still around?"

"You mean that rebel group full of pro-Imperial gooks? They are, unfortunately, but they're not going to take us on anytime soon."

"Why can't we just wipe 'em out already? With the Night Raiders on our side, you'd think we'd be able to kill 'em all..."

"There's still way too much idiots who still support those assholes. Not to mention all the Imperial hideouts that the First Emperor constructed...if only we had the fucking map..."

 _"The 'Path of Freedom?' So the Path of Peace had a falling-out with these guys, huh?"  
_

She continued sneaking her way to the other side of the hall and to the armory which was on the West wing of the Palace. Near the armory were several rooms with open doors, which Esdeath peeked inside of. Most contained military uniforms, assortments of weapons and some treasures such as jewelry and other expensive objects. These were always here since the days of the Empire, but most of the treasure seemed new. One of the rooms she reached was a large room filled with filing cabinets and which had a large table with maps sprawled onto it.

Ah, the planning room. Perfect. Now to see what's going on.

Esdeath slipped in and took a look at the map. It was a map of the Empire and its surrounding countries, although instead, the Empire was now the "New Revolutionary Empire." Battle plans and other smaller maps were scattered around the larger one, each detailing different tactics for invading Westria, which was a significantly smaller country than the Empire, it only being a third of its size. It was much more richer though. What was confusing was that as far as she could remember, Westria helped fund the Revolutionary Army's operations through clandestine means.

A simple case of backstabbing, perhaps caused by all the power that went to Najenda's head. Not that Esdeath cared.

Aside from the maps, there were some documents that detailed the "Path of Freedom" rebel group. Most of them were reports of sabotage, with more detailing counter-operations and reprisal methods. It surprised Esdeath. The Revolutionary Army itself was doing the same methods before. Were those Imperial hideouts that secret? If they were so useful, why was she uninformed of this?

If she found Honest or whoever was left of the former administration, they would have to answer her.

Nothing made any mention of her army, which slightly worried her. HER army? Defeated? Impossible! She would not admit it! With all the training and arms she personally gave and procured with the utmost intensity and meticulousness, they would at least hold out for half a decade or so.

She wanted to destroy the plans, but unfortunately she had no means of doing so that wouldn't give her away. She had no choice but to move on.

She exited the other doors and proceeded to the Teigu Armory. A short distance away from the planning room. Strangely, there were no guards at the thick, metal doors that were also slightly opened.

The situation itself was very obviously suspicious. Esdeath knew that normally, areas like these would be brimming with security.

They must have known that she managed to get in.

Esdeath hesitated from walking to the Armory. She could feel that the entire situation was a trap. She thought of all the possible actions she could do to escape, but she felt that trying to go back the way she came or leaving through the windows were not options. She could feel the presence of a large amount of people in the Palace, but it was strangely sparsely occupied.

The guards of the West Wing were hiding. And they were doing a pretty good job at it.

She had no choice. She had to go inside. At least she could procure a Teigu that she could use against them.

Esdeath walked slowly to the doors. As she put her hands on the handles, she couldn't help but feel a familiar presence inside.

She pulled them open.

Directly in front of her, was where the holding chamber of the Demon's Extract was supposed to be. Instead, it was replaced by a display case that contained a rapier that looked all too similar to hers. In front of that, however, was someone.

They were wearing a long, flowing royal red cape which had the New Revolutionary Empire's seal emblazoned on it (A combination of the Empire's old seal and the logo of the Revolutionary Empire). On their head was a lavish gold crown that resembled a mix of the Child-Emperor's headdress and Honest's crown.

They had short silver hair.

"Ah. I was expecting you, intruder," they spoke in a familiar voice.

"Najenda."

The Empress tuned around dramatically, her cape swinging with the motion as she faced the ice general. Her automail arm was now gold-plated, and decorated with expensive gems. Her black suit was replaced with a white one that was also lined with golden cloth at the hems, the difference being that the neckline was much lower than her previous one, showing off more of her cleavage and her upper abdomen. It still retained the criss-cross design that "covered" what was exposed. Her eyepatch was also of the same color.

"I'm impressed on how you managed to get in without getting detected. Perhaps I should congratulate you on testing the security measures I enacted here."

Esdeath scoffed.

"I should be congratulating you. Getting yourself to the top of the food chain here must have been worth a lot of effort."

Najenda laughed.

"Let me guess, you're here because you want some revenge? Perhaps because my forces must've killed your family or friends or someone you hold so dear to you? That's pretty much the motivation of everyone who's tried to have me killed."

"No."

"Oh? Then was it to steal a Teigu? Ohohohoho! What are you waiting for then, beautiful? You should be honored that I am allowing you, but on a condition..."

Esdeath raised an eyebrow.

"You must submit yourself to me. You may choose any Teigu you wish, but in exchange, you will become one of my Imperial Assassins, or better. My _personal_ assassin."

The general stifled a laugh.

"Oh, Najenda. Has it been _that_ long for you to forget _WHO_ I am?"

"Excuse me?!"

"I remember...we once fought together under the Empire's flag, but then we realized your impending treachery. _I_ took that eye and arm! What makes you think that I would be intimidated by your words?!"

Najenda looked on in confusion.

"Simply because I was gone for years, you and that pitiful excuse of a revolution of yours managed to win! That victory means nothing to me! Your 'authority' means NOTHING to me!"

 _"What in the world is this woman talking about?"_ the Empress wondered as Esdeath continued to speak.

"Then...what is your purpose for being here?"

"I have come to proclaim that I, General Esdeath, have returned! And I will crush your 'Empire'!"

Najenda started laughing.

"What is so funny?"

"You? A general?! Would a general be dressed in only a shirt and underwear with some dirty coat wrapped around her waist? Some general you are!"

Esdeath balled her right hand into a fist.

 _"Stop acting like you don't know me, you bitch!"_

"I have never heard of any 'Esdeath' who was a general in my entire life. If that is your name, then I must say that it is a very unwomanly name for someone with the looks of yours. If you did not wish to submit, you could have simply said 'no.'"

Suddenly, guards entered the room through the door behind Esdeath, all pointing their weapons at her.

"Guards. Kill this interloper."

"GRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" a guard yelled as he charged the sadist with his sword, which he thrust forward. Esdeath side-stepped and elbowed him in the face and grabbed his sword. Another guard attempted to stab her with his gun-spear, only for her to bend back as he impaled the previous guard.

Two guards attempted to attack her followed by three more. One tried hacking her apart with two hatchets, only for her to flip over him and slice his nape and spine. Another tried swinging at her with his sword only for her to parry him and jab her sword into his neck. A third tried swinging a halberd at her, with Esdeath successfully rolling forward to dodge and punch him in the face, making him drop the halberd. She picked it up and found herself surrounded again.

"Well don't just stand there! Attack!" one guard shouted. All of them attacked simultaneously, but Esdeath charged in the direction of the Teigu that caught her eye. She jammed it into the torso of a guard, using his falling back to fling herself over the mass of guards attempting to kill her like a pole vault. She landed near the Teigu display case.

Another guard attempted to swing an axe at her only for her to dodge. He accidentally wedged it into some wood, as Esdeath grabbed him by the collar and threw him onto another mass of guards headed for her. She pulled out the axe and swung at the display, smashing the glass.

"SHIT! SHE'S GONNA STEAL IT!" a guard shouted as they rushed her position. Esdeath grabbed the rapier and dashed for the stained glass window that was behind the display. She smashed through the window, falling into the Great Canal.

Najenda, who was watching the chaos unfold as she stood away from the fight, looked on as a senior guard approached her.

"Empress," he said as he knelt before her before standing again. "Should we go after her?"

"Yes. I want every available man searching the river and streets for her."

"What about the wounded?" he asked as she walked towards the exit.

"Kill them. It is their mercy, for they have failed me."


	3. A Gay Old-Timer

Esdeath was definitely sure she was (figuratively) fucked. What she wasn't sure of, was jumping out the window. Having an aqueduct right near it was a big coincidence, a coincidence that became a blessing once the aqueduct went into the Great Canal, or more accurately, a sewer leading into the canal.

After a lengthy amount of minutes' worth of a waterslide with stinky sludge, the unfortunate "general" was disposed of into the large-ass canal. Esdeath swam to a nearby pier and struggled as she pulled herself onto the wet wood.

"Agh! Gack!"

She gagged and sputtered as she tried to get the taste of shit out of her mouth. Could her day get any more shitty?

 _"Shit...that was the worst waterslide I've ever had...I need a fucking soak..."_

The sun was almost in the middle of the sky, signaling noon. Esdeath dashed into another alley as people were starting to open up shops and walk on the canalside. It was then she felt a sharp pain in her side.

She looked to her abdomen's left side to see a large shard of glass sticking out. The part of the shirt over it was soaked in blood.

 _"Fuck! This is...urrgh!"_ she thought as she dropped the sword Teigu she was holding and forcibly ripped the shard off.

"NGAAAAGHHHH!" she screamed as she slumped to the ground, clutching the wound. She was losing blood, _fast_.

 _"D-D-D-Dammit..."_

Esdeath tried to stand, but the pain was unbearable at this point. She was one tough cookie, but the lack of her powers and clothing certainly weren't enough to protect her from jumping through a window of stained glass out of desperation to escape. It was also brought to her attention that she had smaller cuts all over her body.

She couldn't...no...WOULDN'T admit it.

She was _dying._

She crawled to the sword and tried to use it as a crutch. She managed to get on her knees and looked at the rest of the alley in front of her. A lot of civilians were walking along the street, but so were the Army soldiers.

And to make matters worse, the alley only went straight ahead.

"Keep your eyes peeled, men! Whoever gets that bitch gets a large payout!" a distant, but near voice said. Esdeath quickly crawled with her knees to the side of a dumpster as a large amount of footsteps got closer to the alley.

"Remember: Long-ass blue hair, a nice pair of tits, and - hear this - no pants! She won't be hard to find!" the same voice, who she presumed to be the leader, said before laughing heartily. "If any of you find her, don't her hog her all to yerself or else!"

 _"Seriously? The rebels are such worthless pigs..."_ she thought as the soldiers passed the alley by. _"Speaking of which...don't they have women in their ranks?! Why don't they just fuck those whores instead?"_

Esdeath tried to get up again only to fall down face first into the ground in pain.

 _"Argghh! Shit...Stylish, you perverted bastard_... _I_ _could've used your skills right about now..."_

Ah Stylish. That perverted motherfucker. She didn't mind anyone's sexual orientation, because what mattered to her was that they did their job and did it excellently. Stylish might have been a crazy, depraved scientist, but he was also a talented doctor and surgeon. Even more so thanks to his Teigu, Perfector.

But he was dead. Having gotten himself killed by the Night Raid assholes thanks to his overconfidence. They even managed to get his Teigu as well.

She had a Teigu herself, some kind of rapier that looked so much like her old rapier. But in her current state, it was useless.

Esdeath laid on her right as she pressed down on the wound to at least slow the bleeding. It was futile.

 _"No...no no no no NO NO NONONONONONOOOOOO! I can't! Not like this..."_ she frantically thought. She, the feared General Esdeath, Strongest of the Empire, was about to die slowly and painfully via blood loss, in a dirty alley in the capital city of the country she served, alone.

 _"Guuuuhh...I...I would've...wanted to at least...see Ta-T-Tat...sumi...one more...time..."_

She was starting to lose consciousness.

 _"I'm sorry...daddy...your...your little girl wasn't...as strong as...you thought..."_

She went limp. The last thing she saw was a dark figure as it loomed over her.

 _"Hello, Death...it would be nice...to fight you..."_

* * *

 **Sometime later...**

She was sure was dead. She even saw the Grim Reaper stand over her as her body gave out.

But why did it feel like she was in bed?

Esdeath opened her eyes to find herself in an ambiently lit room. On her right was a small wooden table. It was covered with a large amount of medical supplies that looked recently used. The room's source of light was a candle lamp on the bedside drawer. The bed itself was in a corner of the room. In front was an old-looking bookshelf filled with dusty books and some jars filled with...something. It was too dim to see.

After surveying her surroundings, she immediately remembered her wound and pulled off the blanket to check it.

It was gone. As if it never happened at all. There were no sutures or pain either. Her skin looked as immaculate as ever.

Then she realized another thing.

She was butt-naked.

"KYAAAHH!" she screamed as she quickly reached for the blanket and covered herself. A few seconds later, the nearby door opened.

"Ooohh! Darling! You're finally awake! It's a miracle that little rascal found you in time! It would be a shame if a gorgeous woman like you were to-" an effeminate voice said as Esdeath immediately started throwing the medical equipment at the person.

"PERVERT! HOW DARE YOU UNDRESS A WOMAN WITHOUT HER PERMISSION!" she screamed as she threw what she could grab from the table as hard as possible.

"Ouch! Hey! Darling, those cost plenty! That disinfectant was expensive! Not the cotton! That was a premium brand!" the person said as they dropped to the floor and shielded their face with their arms.

"When I get off this I'll-wait a minute..." Esdeath stopped herself from throwing the candle lamp as she noticed something familiar about the man. His hair looked familiar, together with his attire, which was an old-looking, but clean labcoat over an equally-old yellow suit. Even his voice sounded very familiar.

The she saw his hands.

He was wearing Perfector!

"Stylish?! D-Doctor Stylish?!"

Stylish got up and fixed himself.

"Yes darling that's me! The magnificently fabulous Doctor Stylish!" he said as he pirouetted and did a "voila" gesture "I take it you've heard of me from a friend of yours? Well, whoever it is I'm always happy to meet new clients!"

Esdeath was befuddled. Didn't he recognize her?

"Stylish...don't you remember me? At all?"

"What do you mean, darling? Have we met before? I'm very certain that this the first time I've had you as a client, gorgeous," he replied as he put a hand on his hip in the most flamboyant way possible.

 _"Oh brother...him too, huh? Well, at least you're still alive...somehow,"_ she thought as she sighed.

"Well, anyway. I think it's time you meet your savior, beautiful!" he said as he opened the door and called out. "Makoto, darling! Your damsel is awake!"

 _"'Makoto'? No...it can't be him..."_ she thought as the Boy-Emperor was the first thing that came up in her mind. It was probably a kid with the same name.

At that moment, a young boy dressed in a hooded jacket with a sling bag and shorts and sandals meekly walked into the room. He had the exact same hair and face as the Boy-Emperor.

"H-Hi, ma'am," he meekly said as he looked down.

 _"The Emperor! Wh-What the-?!"_

Esdeath looked on in surprise, speechless.

"Prince Charming over here found you in an alley with a nasty puncture on your left abdomen with a lot of unsightly cuts! And just in time too! You were basically swimming in a pool of blood!" Stylish said in a still-upbeat tone. "Luckily my clinic was just nearby!"

 _"Hmph,"_ Esdeath thought as she smiled. _"Looks like it's not today, Death."_

"Thank you, Makoto. I owe you a _lot._ "

He blushed. Esdeath might be a fucked-up person, but she couldn't believe that Honest let this young kid be his puppet. Not to deny that it worked since he believed every word he told him, but she believed that he deserved a proper childhood. Although if that was the case, she probably would have never been promoted to general if his parents were the ones in charge.

"Anyway, since you're all fixed up, you can leave if you want. But if you wanna rest then be my guest!" Stylish said cheerfully. "Just tell me, honey. I'm going to check for replacements for the supplies you threw at me."

Before leaving, Stylish knelt down to Makoto and whispered to him. Soon after, Esdeath and him were left together.

"Sooo...ummm...that was awkward..." he said as he slowly walked a little closer to the bed.

"Dr. Stylish is always like that," Esdeath said, trying not to intimidate him. "By the way, Makoto. What were you doing in an alley here in this city? As far as I know there's a lot of scum 'round here."

"I don't think I can tell you why until you've answered my questions first, ma'am."

Esdeath was slightly surprised by his statement.

"Okaaay...ask away, then," she said as she eyed him suspiciously.

Makoto looked at the door and composed himself before turning back to her.

"Why did you break into the Imperial Palace and steal a Teigu?"

Esdeath's eyes widened.

 _How did he see all that?_

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you get dragged out a carriage by some Military Police. You and the driver killed them and hid the bodies..."

Esdeath looked at him with her mouth agape as he continued talking.

"The next time I saw you you scaled a building and tree and jumped the wall. A few minutes after that, that's when I found you in the alley."

Esdeath took a few seconds to process the information.

"I...I wanted to find some answers..."

"Answers to what?"

"To why everything's like this! Nothing here is how I remember it! I was a general in the Imperial Army, the strongest soldier as well. I led a special unit that hunts down a highly-trained rebel assassin group. Stylish was killed by them! And you...you're supposed to be the Emperor!" she said, her voice getting progressively more upset.

Makoto's eyes widened at the last statement.

"I'm sorry. I...I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You reacted to the last thing I said, Makoto..." Esdeath said to him as she leaned closer. "...were you the Emperor before the Revolutionary Army took over?"

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"No, ma'am. But you've answered my question already, even if I didn't get it, so I guess I should answer yours."

Makoto looked to the side.

"I'm...I'm a courier for the Path of Freedom, you see. I pass by the alleys and stuff so I can pass information discreetly between the cells we have here in the Capital."

Esdeath listened in silence.

"They mostly use kids for this kind of job in the cities."

"Oh. That explains the bag...and...well...you."

There was dead air for a moment.

"Umm...ma'am? Can I ask you something?" he said as he looked at her again.

"Yes?"

"Th-That Teigu you stole...do you know how to use it?"

Esdeath pondered. Technically she did, being a master with the rapier and all, but the rapier was a Teigu itself. The only Teigu she knew how to use effectively was Demon's Extract, which she didn't have anymore to her chagrin.

"Well, it's a rapier. I'm good with those. But considering it's a Teigu...no I don't know what it can do."

"Maybe you could..." he said as he twiddled his fingers behind his back and stood on his toes nervously. "...maybe you could join us? The Path is kinda in dire need of members at this point..."

 _"Join the Path of Freedom?"_ Esdeath thought. She was expecting the question ever since he mentioned being a member.

"If you...uhhh...don't want to it's fine. Just please don't tell anyone I'm a member. Although they might hunt you down if they found out that you have a Teigu."

"That's not a threat, is it?"

"No! I'm sorry...it's just...word gets around here really quick..." he said, afraid.

Esdeath considered her current status:

\- It was evident that no one knew her, as if she never existed

\- Her army was nowhere to be found

\- The rebels won the war somehow

\- She was now a fugitive due to what transpired in the Palace

\- She lost her Teigu and is currrently stuck with one that she doesn't know how to use

Bingo.

There was only one option.

Her army might be gone, the Empire might be defeated, but knowing that she survived a near-death scenario convinced her that she still had a duty to do.

Give the New Revolutionary Empire the asskicking it deserved..

 _"Looks like I'm still getting my big battle. You rebels might have won the war against the Empire, but you haven't won your war with me!"_

"You know what, Makoto?" she said to the nervous boy. "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

"Y-You're joining us?"

"Are you deaf, boy? Consider it my way of repaying the debt."

Makoto's eyes lit up.

"Th-Thank you...we _really_ need all the people we can get."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We need to get going. Can you call Stylish over?"

"O-Oh. Yes, of course."


End file.
